Friday, 18 September 2015

REVIEW: Lord of the Flies at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking

Whenever I hear the phrase “Lord of the Flies” I experience
very dramatic flashbacks of my GCSE English Literature days. I had a wonderful
teacher who was raised in New Zealand. Her accent was so distinctive that when
it came to the exam, I could hear her voice playing round and round in my head.
To this day I can still hear phrases like “Simon is the Christ-like figure in
the novel” and “the conch is the symbol of order amidst all this chaos” so as I
approached the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, I remembered those days.
Flocks…no, SWARMS of teenagers poured into the theatre to see William H
Golding’s classic 1954 novel brought to life.

The novel, simply put, closely examines the breakdown of
societal values and the raw brutality of humanity in times of utter
desperation. The novel follows a group of school children who are stranded on an
island with no adults after a plane crash. The novel was adapted for this
production by Nigel Williams.

Elements of this script were fantastic. The production felt
really modern with wonderful injections of “selfies”, “banter” and street slang,
which most definitely wasn’t around in 1954! It has to be said though, that
overall this dialogue felt quite unnatural. This was no fault of the actors; it
sadly lies in the script itself. As this play is built around the behaviour of
young children and teenagers, I was really quite disappointed that the dialogue
sounded so abnormal and forced on occasion.

I must take my hat off to the set and production designers
who have made one of the most detailed and breath-taking sets I’ve ever seen in
a touring production. Half an aeroplane with stacks of suitcases falling out of
it, underground shelters, campsites, trees and hanging branches and beyond – it
is absolutely exquisite – all brought together with captivating lighting
effects and an original soundtrack to match.

The cast is made up entirely of children and young adults,
but there was nothing ‘youth theatre’ about these kids. Each and every single
one had their shining moment, and I was really taken back by just how much
talent these young actors have in their bones.

The cast is lead by Luke Ward-Wilkinson as Ralph. Remember
his name, because he has the potential to be a huge star one-day. He seems very earnest, yet was utterly
captivating for every moment he was on the stage, and this natural
stage-presence enabled him to deliver every line with clarity, conviction and
sincerity. His characterisation of Ralph did the book absolute justice, and his
portrayl of this despairing hero was one to remember. I cannot fault his

performance.

The antagonist of Lord of the Flies is Jack Merridew, played
by Freddie Watkins. His private-school voice seemed a little exaggerated at
times, and his brattiness occasionally overstated, but overall, he gave a very
solid performance, particularly in act II, driven by anger and desperate need
for power. When paired with Ward-Wilkinson in a fight scene, he came into his
own and wowed the entire audience.

From the supporting cast, Keenan Munn-Francis as Simon,
Anthony Robert as Piggy, and Dylan Lllewellyn as Henry are all worthy of recognition
for their fantastic interpretations of their characters. In addition to these
boys, I take my hat off to Michael Ajao as Maurice who provided much needed
comic relief throughout the production and made me laugh out loud more than
once. I also can’t forget to mention pocket-sized cast member David Evans who
played Perceval. “Aww” sounds were audible from around the theatre during some
of his scenes, afterall, who can resist a gorgeous, little boy cuddling a teddy
bear which is almost as big as he is?

My special mention goes to Matthew Castle as the murderous
Roger. His ruthless physicality was exceptional from start to finish, and his
piercing eyes were every bit as threatening as you might fear. Castle has had
no formal training, but this does not hinder him against his cast-mates. During
every ‘tribe’ scene, he was the scene-stealer, and was my stand out performer
from the ensemble.

On the not so positive side of things, this production is
let down by low budget props. The butchered pig was so fake, it was laughable.
It looked like an inflatable toy from Toys ‘R’ Us and sadly took any atmosphere
built up by the actors away from the scene.

The choreography of this production was… okay. Some of the
fight scenes, particularly the one between Jack and Ralph (kudos to
Ward-Wilkinson and Watkins), were outstanding, but unfortunately there were
some equally terrible moments such as the “stamp out the out-of-control-fire”
scene. The boys were all frantically running around trying to put out the fire
by stamping on it, but none of them actually stood anywhere near it! I
understand the health and safety hazards, however, it was very distracting and
unconvincing to see them try to put out a fire by effectively marching 2 feet
away from it…

Overall, this show is definitely worth seeing for anyone who
loves, or is studying the book. It has its production faults, but these are
somewhat redeemed by an outstanding
cast of young actors who bring Golding’s incredible work to life in a new, exhilarating
and dynamic way.